I like the changes and am happy with the FAQ. I wish that it would've been released a little sooner, but if the option is no FAQ or a late FAQ, I'll take this FAQ.

The full effect of this FAQ will be seen, but first impression for me is. Well done FFG, well done. Quite happy with every change they made and the clarifications were good as well.

Glad about Killer of the Wounded and the clarification on when to choose Melee titles. OK with TftE.

Sorrowful Man and Shield Islands Dromon was kinda expected. I fear that Sorrowful Man might be too strong now.

I'm glad they fixed Castle Battlements, but am disappointed they did nothing about Griff's Response (which doesn't work as written) and Before the Black Walls (which doesn't work as was most likely intended).

Also disappointing that they fixed the typo on Free Man, but not the ones on CS Jhogo and Snakeskin Veil.

I personally could live without the restricting of S&D. People had begun to adapt to it; I was starting to use it less anyway. Don't feel strongly about it though.

I'm really, really glad the Valar/Maester of the Sun/Darkstar issue has been resolved.

The Maester h8ers will claim that restricting TMP isn't enough.

LOL Where is the ban to Martell House Card?

On a more serious note. I would have really liked to see Compelled by the Rock be unbanned and Castellan of the Rock be unrestricted (with limited response I don't think it needs to be restricted). Also would have really liked to see them somehow make Jaqen playable.

Overall though I think most of these changes were anticipated.

For me the most surprising change was the change to threat from the east, but I am so glad they made that change. It Never felt like the way it was being combo'd with Laughing Storm (ie: the only time I ever see Threat from the East being played) was the way the plot was originally intended.

BTW Penny is an absolute beast now. Overnight went from being a pretty useful card to probably my new favorite card of all time.

edit: please make a non-limited version of twilight market it's not fair shadow decks have no equivalent cards to river row, street of steel, shadowblack lane, street of sisters, street of silk, flea bottom, ocean road.

I find it interesting that while Castle Battlements, Sorrowful Man and Shield Island Dromond now work the way people expect them to, rather that how they are written; Griff's response was not errated at all, so it still doesn't function.

mathlete said:

This is pretty much my reaction as well. I am writing up a comprehensive list of changes in this & the tourney guide, because I think a lot of things won't be discussed.

TLS and TftE is still good, just not *as* good.

KhalBrogo said:

Penny? What did they do that affects Penny? What am I missing?

Ratatoskr said:

KhalBrogo said:

BTW Penny is an absolute beast now. Overnight went from being a pretty useful card to probably my new favorite card of all time.

Penny? What did they do that affects Penny? What am I missing?

Was wondering about the Penny comment too…

TLS + TFTE is still a one-sided draw cap, right?

Ignore my comment about Penny. miscommunication between me and Bruno.

imrahil327 said:

Yup.

What did you think happened to Penny ?

Also, so they fixed shield island and sorrowful ..but people can still choose to discard no cards when no cards in hand with Penny?

SerArthurDayne said:

Yes. Not a huge deal though, is it?

Anyone find it strange that they said this:

Sorrowful Choices

A few cards in A Game of Thrones offer a choice to the players they target. Some are intended to be all upside for the player triggering the effect, and some are intended to affect all players equally, either negatively or positively…Then there are cards which are meant to be entirely negative for your opponent. Those cards are intended to allow players to put pressure on their opponents, making them pick between two undesirable effects. The wording on the cards like Shield Islands Dromon (Lions of the Rock, 46) and Sorrowful Man (A Poisoned Spear, 110) allowed for an unintended “out.” Some players would choose an effect they could not fulfill and thereby ignore the effect. These cards have received errata, so the opponent must fulfill one of the effects if possible. The only way to avoid fulfilling the effect is to be unable to fulfill either effect.

But the only cards they errata'd to effect the change were Shield Islands Dromon and Sorrowful Man? What about cards like Penny?

Ratatoskr said:

What was the issue with Valar/Maester of the Sun/Darkstar that has now been resolved? Wasn't aware there was an issue with it, and didn't read anything about it in the new FAQ. Did I miss something?

“When revealed, you choose one:
–Each player draws 3 cards. Each player that drew 3 cards discards 3 random cards from hand.
–Each player discards 3 random cards from hand. Each player that discarded 3 cards draws 3 cards.”

Note, that means if I drew 1 card from a prior effect such as Lords of Summer or Knights of the Realm then I would draw 2 cards (right?)

Unless there is already some clarification that an effect that says "draw 3 cards", but you draw 2 due to the cap, still means you drew 3 cards from that effect.

If not it should say IM-not-so-HO: Each player that drew up to 3 cards discards 3 random cards from hand.

So what does the new TMP restriction actually do? Given that most people have complained about those decks, I'm interested in the impact this fix might have. It'll cut into Martell Maesters, who invariably run another restricted card, but I don't think it'll cripple the deck. The Targaryen and Greyjoy builds are essentially unaffected…

If anything, the maester "Cannot win" ruling ("If, through a card effect, a player “cannot win the game,” he cannot be awarded a win or a modified win for that match. (His best possible result is a draw.)") might have more effect, as it may make people limit the number of chains they use in control decks that might go to time.

Note: The FAQ was just re-updated to include an erratum for Before the Black Walls that wasn't in the initially posted version.

bloodycelt said:

Well, the new wording just reinstates the old interpretation of TftE's effect. It is functionally the same as an "Draw 3 cards, then discard 3 cards OR Discard 3 cards, then draw 3 cards" wording that applies to each player separately, which is how TftE was understood when it first came out. The point is: If the first option is chosen, and you draw 1 or 2 cards from TftE, you don't discard at all.

Oh interesting, so preplot draw vs that plot is even stronger.

ASoIaFfan said:

The problem was this:

You have Maester of the Sun in play and Darkstar in hand. Valar is flipped. The effect initiates in step 1 of the Action window. In step 2, saves happen; Maester of the Sun saves himself, pays the cost with Darstar, and Darkstar enters play. In step 3, Valar's effect resolves. Now, what happens with Darkstar? He's around when Valar resolves, but he wasn't when it initiated. People were unsure if he'd die.

The same thing happens when you use Bloodrider to cancel a save during Valar.

Ratatoskr said:

Ah..so I'm assuming you are referring to 3.39 on page 11 then? From reading that, it would appear that Darkstar would indeed die in that case.

Correct on both accounts.

Maesters barely affected lol. Maybe bara and martell only. Still strong as shizz. Enjoy maestersfest-- err I mean gencon!

Ratatoskr said:

dcdennis said:

Tremble, brief mortals, before my awesome prophetic powers!

I agree with most of the changes to the FAQ, except for the changes to sorrowful man and Shield Islands Dromon, which to me seems too powerful. 2 Gold +2 Influence for kill and a crappy character is pretty good, and I don't like what Shield Islands Dromon gives to choke. They were fine as they were.